Hippalus was a Greek navigatorand merchant who probably lived in the 1st century BCE. The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions He is sometimes conjectured to have been the captain of the Greek explorer Eudoxus of Cyzicus' ship. Another article treats of Eudoxus of Cnidus. Eudoxus of Cyzicus ( fl
The writer of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea credited Hippalus with discovering the direct route from the Red Sea to India over the Indian Ocean by plotting the scheme of the sea and the correct location of the trade ports along the Indian coast. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea ( Periplus Maris Erythraei) is a Greek Periplus, describing navigation and trading opportunities The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface Pliny the Elder claimed that Hippalus discovered not the route but the monsoon wind also called Hippalus (the south-west monsoon wind). Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months Most historians have tried to reconcile the reports by stating that knowledge of the monsoon winds was necessary to use the direct route, but the historian André Tchernia explains that Plinius' connection between the wind and the navigator was based on common pronunciation: in the Hellenistic Era the name of the wind was written as Hypalus, only in Roman times the spelling Hippalus came in use. This article focuses on the historical aspects of the Hellenistic age for the cultural aspects see Hellenistic civilisation. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The wind had already been known in Hellenistic times and had before been used by Arab and Indian sailors to cross the Indian Ocean.
To understand the importance of Hippalus' discovery we have to know that before him Greek geographers thought that the Indian coast stretched from west to east. Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena Hippalus was probably the first (in the west) to recognize the north-south direction of India's westcoast. Only someone who has this insight will think crossing the Indian Ocean might be a faster way to south India than following the coastline. South India is the area encompassing India 's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union
The use of Hippalus' direct route greatly contributed to the prosperity of trade contacts between the Roman province of Aegyptus and India from the 1st century BCE onwards. Roman Trade was the engine that drove the economy of the late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. Ægyptus redirects here See Egypt Province for the province of the Ottoman Empire India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country From Red Sea ports like Berenice large ships crossed the Indian Ocean to the Tamil kingdoms of the Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras in present day Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Berenice or Berenice Troglodytica ( Greek:) now known as Medinet-el Haras, is an ancient seaport of Egypt on the west coast of the Tamil people (also called Tamils or Tamilians) ( are an Ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern Origin The origin of the word “Pandya” has been a subject of much speculation History In early Tamil literature the great Chera rulers are referred to as Cheral Kuttuvan Irumporai Kollipurai and Athan Kerala ( Malayalam: {{Kerala in Malayalam}}; Tamil Nadu ( Tamil:, Country of the Tamils, t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ is one of the 28 states of India.
In modern times a crater on the moon was named after the navigator. Hippalus the remnant of a lunar crater on the eastern edge of Mare Humorum. He is also a prominent character in L. Sprague de Camp's novel about Eudoxus, The Golden Wind. Lyon Sprague de Camp, ( November 27 1907 – November 6 2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy author The Golden Wind is an Historical novel by L Sprague de Camp, first published by Doubleday in 1969
See also
References
- Federico De Romanis and André Tchernia, Crossings: Early Mediterranean Contacts with India (New Delhi 1997)
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